Last weekend, for the first time, I got out of the capital, Addis.
I went to Lake Langano, about 200 km from the capital in the South, with the newlywed couple, their friend and my roommate.
Until the Saturday morning, the day of departure, we were not sure exactly what time and with which car we were leaving...
But this is Africa! lol
Although the distance is 200km, you cannot reach in 2 hours...
The condition of the road is one of the best apparently in the country but the drivers on the road are very bad, plus, animals like cows, donkeys, sheep and dogs come out on the road without any hesitation.
The condition of the road is one of the best apparently in the country but the drivers on the road are very bad, plus, animals like cows, donkeys, sheep and dogs come out on the road without any hesitation.
If by accident you hit any of these (domestic) animals, you will pay a lot to compensate their loss for not only the animal itself but also the future income from the livestock.
Fortunately, our driver, my roommate was well experienced and prudent so we had even a close call for any accident although we saw several totally destroyed trucks on the roadside and one accident between a car and a donkey.
Sign in Amharic
The landscape of suburbs and countryside seemed quite similar to the one of Burkina.
The electric pole made with a tree supported by another trunk
Right now is just before the rainy season thus there is little vegetation.
On the other hand, there are also certain things that I have never seen in Burkina.
In small towns on the way, there were so many these three wheel cars that you may see many in Asia.
Trees in unique flat shape
Not only in rural area but also in Addis, I see very often ladies using an umbrella to avoid the strong sun like Japanese ladies :)
The water of Langano lake is brown...which makes you think it dirty.
However, in fact, it is because of magnesium in the water and it is the only lake in Ethiopia where you can safely swim in without taking any risk of getting the Schistosomiasis which can makes you blind.
Ethiopia is an inland country like Burkina so such water area is very popular for holidays.
I did only put my feet and not swim though...
We played very much on beach side.
The area of Langano is lowland with temperature of about 30 degrees.
So although normally I do not drink or enjoy beer but it was so good (well, for alcohol, you do not really have other choices)!
So although normally I do not drink or enjoy beer but it was so good (well, for alcohol, you do not really have other choices)!
St. George Beer: one of the most popular beer in Ethiopia
Luckily or by chance, the day when we were there was the night moon was the closest to the Earth.
Under such a bright moon, we did campfire, danced and had really fun.
It was such a relaxing weekend.
Nearby this lake, there is a forest reserve where you can find so many wild animals including a large number of endemic birds only in Ethiopia and/or Eritrea.
We only stayed nearby the lake so we saw only some types of birds.
On the way back to Addis, we got a few storms,
But we bought cheap but fresh veggies from the local farmers and
we could see (apparently quite famous) Secretarybird.
Next time, I would love to stay 2 or 3 nights and enjoy the hiking in the reserve :)
